a 21-year-old Asiatic lion died due to old age at the National Zoological Park in the Capital on Wednesday. The Asiatic lion was not keeping well for last many months and suffered from paralysis a few days ago. "Ghaghas had been seriously ill for last few days and had showedsigns of deterioration since this morning," said a zoo official.

The average life expectancy for a captive lion is 18 to 20 years, zoo officials said. Ghaghas was brought from Junagarh sanctuary to the National Zoological Park, popularly known as Delhi zoo, when it was just seven years old.

Zoo officials said, except for the paralysis developed recently, Ghaghas was not ill otherwise but showed all signs of ageing. For instance, in absence of the famed strong teeth, the ageing lion was given boneless meat. Zoo staff took great care of the food intake and also fed tonic supplements for strength.

Ghaghas was not taken out of the cage and was provided all care within its cage itself. In winters, the cage had a heater right next to the lion while in summer the heater was replaced with a cooler.

After Ghaghas's death, the Delhi zoo is now left with seven Asiatic lions (three male and four female). One male Sundaram and female Akila too have developed paralysis, zoo sources said.

The Gujarat Government has demanded Rs.836.17 crore central assistance from the Government of India for the Lion conservation in Gir Sanctuary and National Park and for the unique Ring road surrounding it. The ring road will help in minimizing the man-animal clash and human activity in the region.

The State Government has recently pushed the central government again for these two ambitious projects.

The State Government in a formal communication wrote to the Ministry of Forest & Environment(MOEF) that," as per 2010 estimation Greater Gir area had about 411 Asiatic Lions.

Greater Gir, the only home of Asiatic Lion, needs to be intensively protected and managed with all out efforts in conservation of Asiatic Lions. In spite of successful conservation efforts over last four decades registering sustained increasing population trend the Asiatic Lion is still critically endangered on account of its total population being only about 411.Therefore the long-term attention for conservation of Asiatic Lion is required. In the recent times poaching of large cats for international market has imposed a serious threat to lions also."

"The Government of Gujarat is taking utmost possible steps. Considering the need for additional resources and contribution of Government of India, the Government of Gujarat has submitted a proposal of " THE LONG TERM CONSERVATION OF ASIATIC LION IN BRHUHAD GIR ". The project cost was Rs.262.36 Crore with Government of India's share Rs.236.17 Crores and Government of Gujarat share of Rs. 26.19 Crore. The cost included the cost of relocation and rehabilitation of resident people and Gir Maldharies.

The proposal includes strengthening protection, habitat development, wild life health care and mitigating man-wild animal conflict situation, use of modern technology, eco development works, public awareness, eco tourism. " wrote the state Government to the MOEF.

The MOEF has provided only Rs.120.46 lakh as financial and technical assistance to the State Government for protection and conservation of Asiatic Lions in Gir forest in last four years.

Gir National Park and sanctuary area is 1412.13 Sq. Km. Six State Highways and some minor roads pass through the Sanctuary and used by the local people. Existing Highways passing though the sanctuary affect movement of animals and Forest cover, increase Wildlife mortality with the volume of traffic and increase possibility of poaching. To reduce this traffic a project of "Garland/Ring road" around Gir forest has been proposed.

The State Government wrote to the MOEF that, "The proposed garland/ring road is estimated to be a length of 269 Km. The estimated cost of project is about Rs.600.00 Crores. The said project has been duly recommended by State Board of Wild life and is sent to Union Government on 2-06-2009 for consideration. The ring road proposed 14 over passes and 16 under passes on specific migratory path locations for safe passages to wild life while crossing Highways and immunize the protected area from traffic playing through human interference.''

A four-year old leopard was caught from Ishwaria area in the Dedakadi range. It was among several leopards caught close to human habitats. When the attacks on livestock and big cats prowling close to human dwellings became frequent, foresters tagged this leopard with a micro chip before releasing it in Lipapani area. A month later the same leopard was rescued from a well in Kotdi area. After treatment it was released in Varvangada area in Sasan. Forty days later the beast was caught from Ankolwadi area from a field and was released in Gola area. Earlier this year, for the fourth time, the repeatoffender was again rescued from a field in Ankolwadi.

Not just leopards, forest rescue staff have noticed over 24% of wild animals repeatedly going back to where people stay inside or around the forest. Among these 'troublemakers', a large number of them are big cats that are caught too close to spots from where they had been rescued earlier.

State forest officials said in 2010-11, 208 animals were rescued by the Sasan rescue team. Of these, 113 were leopards, 63 lions and the rest crocodiles and pythons. Analysis of data by the rescue centre revealed that 76% animals were first timers. Of the remaining 24%, 16% were rescued twice while another five per cent animals were caught close to human habitats three times and at least three per cent were caught four times.

The analysis further revealed that some cats were caught more than once from the same area. This was after they were released in the wild, far from the place where they created trouble. Citing an example, a forest officer said that the four-yearold leopard was caught for the third time from Ankolwadi area and was released about 30 km in Gola area. But nearly after a month this animal was again found in the same area. Deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar said, "The department puts a micro chip in each animal rescued along with the date, place and even the time of the rescue.

If the same animal is caught again the chip reader can tell the story." He added that data analysis showed that many animals return to their own territory from where they were earlier rescued. Kumar said that after a rescue operation when an animal was released in the wild, by instinct they would climb a hillock and look for light and move in that direction. "Animals return to their territory only because of food habits. An animal that has been staying in or around the village would have tasted cattle and got used to it, which is why it returned to these places."

Additional principal chief conservator of forest H S Singh said animals have strong intelligence and as soon as they reach the area that they are familiar with, they prefer to be there.

A 65-year-old advocate who has been using the right to information (RTI) Act to seek official details on illegal mining and unauthorised constructions in and around Porbandar was seriously injured when six unidentified men attacked him on Friday. Four of the assailants were arrested later.

Activist Bhagu Devani has pointed finger at a former minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Gujarat. Sources in the office of the director-general of police in Gandhinagar said a group of six men arrived in a car and stopped Devani's car when he was about to reach his residence.

After forcing him and the driver to get off the car, the men hurled abuses on him for his RTI activism, assaulted him with sticks and even stabbed him before escaping. Devani was rushed to a hospital where his condition was said to be critical. The advocate had recently filed a writ petition in the Gujarat High Court against greedy miners and builders who had political connections. He had named former BJP minister Babu Bokhiria, who owns mines and properties in the region where limestone extraction is Rs 5-billion business.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), Devani was assaulted because he raised his voice against illegal constructions, specifically mentioning two buildings — an eight-storey residential complex in which Bokhiria is a partner, and another a three-star hotel belonging to his close associate Vikram Odedara, also a BJP leader.

Odedra's brother Lakhu is among the four nabbed by the police so far. The name of a third BJP leader, Suresh Thanki, has also cropped up in the case.

Only a couple of months ago, a 45-year-old social activist in Kutch had set himself ablaze in the compound of the revenue officer's office in Rapar. He had been receiving constant threats from government officials and local policemen for seeking information through the RTI Act on irregularities in cattle grazing in the district.

In another case in July 2010, RTI activist Amit Jethwa was shot dead near the high court here for campaigning against alleged illegal mining near the Gir wildlife sanctuary that went on with the backing of some politicians.

Jethwa's father had blamed the daylight murder on Junagadh BJP MP Dinu Solanki, a powerful, dreaded politician who alone owns 55 of the 200-odd shady mines in his constituency that covers the woodlands housing the rare Asiatic lions.

The captured leopard is believed to be six-year-old. The forest department has sent it to Sasan Animal Care centre.

Natively from Junagadh but presently citizens of the United Kingdom, the Doshi family was on Friday in dense forest of Girnar that also has presence of lions and leopards. After high drama of over an hour, the family was traced.

The Doshi family was in Girnar forest to visit the Ashram of Kashmiri bapu. But on their way back they got on the wrong path and ultimately ended up getting lost in the jungle.

The family consisting of Bhartiben Lakhani, Husband Arvind Doshi and Son Bijal doshi was carrying mobile phone, through which they called their family. Their family informed MLA Mahendra Mashru about the incident.

As soon as the issue was reported to the forest department, the forest officers Kishore Dethadiya, Jhalabhai and Kuvadiyabhai started looking for the family in the parts of the jungle located around the path to Kashmiri Bapu Ashram. After a search for over 1 and a half hour the family was found and was brought back to the city.

A male lion was killed by another one in Hadala range of the Gir National Park, district forest official said today.Talking to PTI on phone, district forest official Manishwar Raja said that the postmortem of the lion has confirmed that it was killed by another one over territorial fight.The park, housing 411 Asiatic lions, is currently closed for tourists following breeding season of lions.Meanwhile, a 4 to 5 years-old lioness, rescued from a 60-feet deep well at Chotra in Khambha range two days back, will be released in the forest for breeding, Raja said. PTI cor

Friday, June 24, 2011

24-06-2011Lion falls in 80ft deep well in GirGujarat SamacharBriefly translated from Gujarati

There is an open well, about 80ft deep, at Devipujak vas at Chotra village in Rajula Taluka in Bhavnagar district. It was half filled with water. Yesterday at about 2 AM in night a male lion of about 10-12 years ran after the stray cow to hunt. Accidently it ran over this well covered with galvanise sheets. As metal sheets were thin it fell into the well. RFO Munni and Jasadhar rescue team were called in the morning. the animal had minor injuries and was moved to Sakkarbag Zoo.

Two persons including a policeman were arrested for killing 'Chinkara' in Gir forest, police said. Earlier one Yusuf Belim was arrested with one kg flesh of the animal and his interrogation led the police to nab policeman Habib Khan, police said adding seven persons were involved in poaching of Chinkara and efforts were on to nab others. The chinkara was found dead in Gir forest nearly a week back and investigation revealed that the animal was shot dead.A pistol and a car used in the poaching were also seized, police said.

How uncommon the pangolin is, was evident from a rescue operation that the forest department carried out in Gir forest after villagers tipped them off about a crocodile falling into an irrigation well.

The rescue team lead by Dr R K Hirpara set out ready to save a crocodile but when they reached the site at Surajgadh village, 8 kms from Sasan, they realized that it was a pangolin, a mammal belonging to the scaly anteater species.

Sandeep Kumar, deputy conservator of forest (headquarter) who had earlier captured a pangolin's encounter with lionesses on his camera, told TOI that the team from Sasan found the animal curled around the pipe used to draw water from the well.

A female leopard that had killed a three-year-old child on the outskirts of Devadi-Semrav village in Talala taluka some days ago was captured by the forest department officials on Monday.

The foresters said that the leopard was on the prowl in the area and they had placed several cages with baits in the area. However, the big cat remained evasive for several days.

"On the fateful night of Sunday, we placed a cage with live bait in it at an orchard owned by Kala Parmar, who claimed to have sighted the beast in his orchard. The leopard was found captured on Monday morning," said a forester.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A four-year-old lioness was rescued from a well by forest officials on the outskirts of Mandilkpur village in Junagadh. The forest officials had to tranquilize the beast.

Deputy conservator of forest Anita Karna said, "The lioness fell in a dry well as she was chasing a wild board. They both fell in the well. After having her trophy, the lioness made several failed attempts to get out of the well. But she stayed in the well. When forest officer came to know about the incident, they reached the spot and rescued the lioness."

"The rescue team made attempts to cage the animal inside the well and bring it out. But when all such efforts failed, we have to tranqualise the lioness."

She said the lioness has not sustained severe injuries, but as a precaution it was taken to Sakarbaugh Zoo for treatment. "After treatment the department will release this lioness in the open," she said

Officials said there are several open dry wells in the area and are located outside the forest department. On an average, over 40-odd such incidents are reported every year. The state government has taken up projects to fence dry well.

Amitabh Bachchan's hugely publicized ads for Gujarat have been beneficial to the state in many ways, from which Gir seems to be benefiting the most. Gir has witnessed a huge increase in number of travelers in recent months.

According to the figures between June 2009 to May 2010 Gir National Park and Gir interpretation center of Devaliya both were visited by 5166 foreign tourists and 200800 Indian tourists; which is a total of 205966 tourists. From which the Gir interpretation center had 213 foreign and 134005 domestic tourists while the Gir sanctuary had 4953 foreign and 66795 domestic tourists.

But this year the number has increased by 98,861 tourists. According to forest department officials in Sasan Gir; 239 foreign tourists and 1,70,350 domestic tourists, totally 1,70,589 tourists have visited Gir interpretation centre and 6061 foreign tourists and 1,28,177 domestic tourists, totally 1,34,238 tourists had visited Gir sanctuary between June 2010 and May 2011.

Last year Gir Interpretation center made an income of Rs 1,20,46,155; whereas Gir sanctuary made Rs 87,20,000. In total the forest department made an income of Rs 2,16,66,840. While this year with 98,861 more tourists, Gir sanctuary has made Rs 1,66,49,950; whereas Gir Sanctuary made Rs 1,56,91,726. In total the forest department made an income of Rs 3,23,41,676 which is Rs 1,06,74,836 more than previous year.

Apart from that the hotels and other hospitality resources near the National Park are benefiting from the increase in the number of tourists. Take an example of local car operators. While one Gipsy car driver was getting 70-80 tourist trips of Gir sanctuary in 2009-10, in year 2010-11 the same driver got 120-150 trips.

But the real hospitality the tourists will never forget is the one offered by the small farm owners in the villages nearby, the tourists feasted on delicious Kathiyawadi food like Bajra No Rotlo, Kadhi, Khichdi and Olo.

The Lion King has not only blessed the forest department but also the small scale cottage industry and numerous individuals who depend on them.

The Gujarat government, with Amitabh Bachchan in tow, is inching towards its goal to prove to its critics that the land of Mahatma Gandhi, or rather Narendra Modi, can attract tourists even without the bubbly flowing freely in the dry state.

With the arrival of rains, the famous Gir wildlife sanctuary, the only abode of Asiatic lions, near Junagadh shut its doors on holidayers on June 16 for four months but tourism officials will not be twiddling their thumbs.

Egged on by the just-announced Rs1.5-billion Central aid for developing the state's three tourist spots, hectic preparations are now on for the third visit of the Hindi film superstar next month to shoot for short films to promote tourism in Champaner, Pavagadh, Ambaji and Saputara, a picturesque hill station, where the department is also organising a four-week monsoon festival.

Bachchan, who first came to Somnath, Girnar, and Bhuj and then shot at Ahmedabad, Porbandar and Dwarka during his second trip, has not been charging any fee from the Modi government and has proved to be a boon for debt-ridden Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited.

Corporation bosses, indeed, admit that the tourist arrivals to Gujarat have increased by at least by 15 per cent after gripping television promos featuring the Bollywood legend were released last year.

Union Tourism Minister Subodhkant Sahai's announcement last week to offer Rs500 million each for Dwarka (a pilgrim centre), Porbandar (Mahatma Gandhi's birthplace) and Bharuch's Kabir Vad (a 300-year-old gigantic single banyan tree spread over 2.5 acres) has also administered a shot in the arm of the dormant tourism industry.

In order to bring in tourists to Gujarat, and to market its sight-seeing places, the state tourism department has also entered into a pact with Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab for inter-state tourism.

While Gujarat is desperate to woo tourists visiting Rajasthan, the neighbouring state is targeting the non-resident Gujaratis who return to their home towns in Gujarat during the winter.

While Gujarat wants foreign tourists from Rajasthan, it is trying to woo religious tourists from Punjab. And if Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra tourism department, too, tie up, Gujarat will be able to offer the entire western part of India to any tourist as one single destination.

The next in line is Goa, where Gujarat wants to promote its wildlife and religious tourism along with beach tourism on its 1,600-km coastline, the longest in the country.

According to Tourism Minister J N Vyas, his department has selected 16 'ill-equipped' beaches, many of them virgin, for promoting 'beach tourism' with a view to attracting domestic and foreign tourists to the state.

A master plan has been prepared for each of these beaches, including levelling along a three-kilometre stretch of each beach, landscaping, benches, kiosks, toilets, lighting and caravan facilities, etc.

For a novel project, Rs60 million has been sanctioned by the Gujarat government to upgrade the Balasinor Dinosaur Fossil Park in Raioli, home to the one of the largest dinosaur fossils sites in the world and where you can touch dinosaur remains and hold a 65-million-year-old egg in your hands.

Aaliya Sultana Babi, the former princess of Balasinor and owner of a heritage hotel, is an enthusiastic promoter and protector of the dinosaur legacy and conducts tours to the site, in an effort to boost heritage tourism in the state.

Wankaner Palace's Digvijay Singh, yet another family member of royal families of erstwhile princely states in Gujarat, also takes tourists on a memorable visit to the state's 1935-built step-well in the middle of a river.

The 30-odd heritage hotel owners, not happy with the incentives being offered now, are meeting Modi on June 19 in the hope of receiving better sops for their eye-catching properties on the lines of ones given in Rajasthan.

After all, following the promotional advertisments videographed with the Bollywood megastar Big B, the state has seen an increase in tourist flow by nearly 1.3 million in the five months ending December last what with the number of foreign tourists also shooting up by 65 per cent — from mere 84,442 in 2009 to 1,42,175 now.

Gir National Park, the only home to Asiatic lions, will remain closed for tourists during the monsoon season owing to the breeding of wild cats and conservation efforts being undertaken at the sanctuary, forest officials said.

"Its ( Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary) closing is being done to provide some privacy to wild animals like lions, leopards and birds like peacocks etc during their mating season as four months of monsoon period are considered the best for their breeding season," Divisional forest officer, Gir national park and wild life sanctuary, Sandeep Kumar said.

The Gir sanctuary, located at Sasan in Junagadh district, is only home to pure Asiatic lions and attracts a large number of tourists.

"Since we supervise the conservation efforts, we want to prevent any disturbance which could also be caused by the tourists," Kumar said, adding that the park would remain closed from June 16 and will reopen in October after the monsoon season is over.

As per the 2010 census, the total number of lions in Gir sanctuary are 411 from 359 in 2005. With a total area of 1412 square km the park is considered as safe haven for lions and other species.

"It is also a natural habitat for leopards and antelopes like sambar, spotted deer, blue bull, black buck, and wild boar, jackal, hyena, langoors, porcupine, bear, crocodiles and over 250 species of birds," Kumar said.

Justifying to keep the park closed during the monsoon season, he said, "The roads get damaged during monsoon and need to be repaired. Moreover, we have to monitor the movement of wild animals during rains and in case of heavy rain we have to chalk out a rescue plan," Kumar said.

In addition, if big cats fall sick, we have to make arrangements for their treatment, he added.

The union environment ministry has earmarked a Rs 50 crore project for the upkeep of greater Gir area on the periphery of the sanctuary - an abode of Asiatic lions. It has also decided to increase the compensation package for tribals and Maldharis living within the sanctuary from Rs 1 lakh earlier to Rs 10 lakh per family.

"The 1,200 families, which include the Maldharis, demand land instead of money as compensation. We are in touch with the state government on this. In fact, in the Gir project, we have a special garland road developed around the protected sanctuary for the wildlife," said the union environment minister.

The Gir project, according to the state environment and forest sources, is worth Rs 200 crore and would be implemented in various phases.

Ramesh said that a biotechnology lab with a special cryogenic facility for preserving genetic material of endangered species of the state would be set up in the state soon.

"I have read Gujarat's proposal and I am quite satisfied with it. There are a few technical details which need to be ironed out. The secretary environment has already apprised us of the project. In the long run, this will help preserve the gene pool of the Asiatic lions and other endangered species in the country," Ramesh said.

Thursday, June 09, 2011

Body of a two and half year old lioness was found near a village in Savarkundla taluka of the district today, forest officials said. The carcass of the lioness, suspected to have died two days ago, was found on the outskirts of Jhabada village of Savarkundla, they said. According to forest officials, the carcass was sent to Sasan Gir in Junagadh district for postmortem and further investigations are on. As per the census done last year there were 411 lions in the state, out of which there were 162 females and 97 males, besides this there were 77 cubs less than one year old and 75 cubs are aged between 1-3 years.

The union environment ministry has earmarked a Rs 50 crore project for the upkeep of greater Gir area on the periphery of the sanctuary - an abode of Asiatic lions. It has also decided to increase the compensation package for tribals and Maldharis living within the sanctuary from Rs 1 lakh earlier to Rs 10 lakh per family.

"The 1,200 families, which include the Maldharis, demand land instead of money as compensation. We are in touch with the state government on this. In fact, in the Gir project, we have a special garland road developed around the protected sanctuary for the wildlife," said the union environment minister.

The Gir project, according to the state environment and forest sources, is worth Rs 200 crore and would be implemented in various phases.

Ramesh said that a biotechnology lab with a special cryogenic facility for preserving genetic material of endangered species of the state would be set up in the state soon.

"I have read Gujarat's proposal and I am quite satisfied with it. There are a few technical details which need to be ironed out. The secretary environment has already apprised us of the project. In the long run, this will help preserve the gene pool of the Asiatic lions and other endangered species in the country," Ramesh said.

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

A youth was injured in an attack by a lion in Ambalash village of Talala taluka in Junagadh district on Monday night, forest officials said. The youth, Rabari, was attacked when he tried to drive away the wild animal after it killed a sheep on the outskirts of the village. According to forest officials, Rabari was asleep at a farm and his sheep were resting nearby at night, when a lion came in search of prey and killed a sheep. Rabari got up due to the noise and tried to drive away the lion. However, the animal attacked him and left him injured. Rabari was later admitted to a hospital in Junagadh. In a different incident that took place in the last week of May, a lion cub that strayed into Mandorana village of Talala taluka in Junagadh and was later handed over to the forest officials, when it was found outside the house of a villager, sources said.

They are the most sought-after couple this season. We aren't talking about some celebs from Hollywood or Bollywood, but they are enjoying attention which isn't any less.

Gagan and Heli ' the new pair of Asiatic lion family are one of the major attractions among visitors. This pair arrived at Chhatbir zoo sometime in mid-March and was shifted to lion safari after a month of medical supervision.

Due to these big cats, Chhatbir zoo has recorded over 16,000 footfall in one month during weekends only. Zoo authorities stated that there has been an increase of around 500 visitors per week as compared to previous months.

Officials at the Chhatbir zoo said they have been witnessing a huge rush during the weekends. The summer vacations are still going on and more people from across the region are expected to visit the lion safari. There is also one old pair of hybrid lions at the safari.

Weekends are witnessing huge rush as compared to the week days. Visitors are coming from not only Tricity, but also from places such as Ludhiana, Patiala, Ropar and Rajpura as the summer vacations are going on. May 21 and 22 have witnessed maximum number of people around 8,000 when Tricity had witnessed a sudden rainfall and weather turned pleasant. ''The number of visitors has considerably increased due to the new pair. We have taken all appropriate steps to take care of the new inmates so that they adjust well here,'' said Basanta Rajkumar, director Chhatbir zoo.

Ragini Khanna, a teacher from Ludhiana, said, ''Earlier, whenever I came here, the lion safari gave distressed look as there were only two lions.

But this time with two new lions here, my kids got very enthusiastic.''

Here because...

Gagan and Heli were brought from Rajkot after sudden deaths of Diya ' the lioness and Pummy ' the tigress in January this year. The new pair is the first pure Asiatic lions in the zoo. Authorities said they will use the pair for breeding purposes in near future.

Gujarat's upwardly mobile citizens would love to live in the company of wild Gir lions. Or at least that is what many realtors seem to believe. As many as 28 applications for housing projects in the vicinity of Gir sanctuary and other lion abodes in the region, are pending with the forest department.

The proposals have come at a time when the central government had just approved eco-sensitive zone around Gir, the only home of the Asiatic lion in the world. This severely restricts any fresh development in a five-km radius around the sanctuary. The forest department has to give a no-objection certificate before the collectorate gives the final stamp of approval to the projects. "Buy a home in the grand lion villa." This is now some of the builders are promoting their high-end schemes. This trend has alarmed environmentalists and wildlife activists. They point out that lions were moving out of the sanctuary to reclaim lost lands. The May 2011 census had put their population at 411 in the region.

TOI posed as an investor and spoke to several developers. Paresh Sakhiya, who has his project in Mendarda taluka's Amrapar area says, "The price of a 300-yard residential plot is Rs 2,150 per sq yard. The area has a sizeable lion population and is about seven km from Gir sanctuary." Sakhiya called his scheme a good holiday home as it was close to the sanctuary.

Realtor Jayesh Patel, too, has a project near Mendarda, with each villa spread over an acre and priced at Rs 75 lakh. There would be 12 farmhouses equipped with CCTV cameras and swimming pools. HS Singh, Gujarat additional principal conservator of forests, said, "We are studying housing projects and will disallow them if they infringe on the eco-sensitive zone." AM Parmar, Junagadh collector said, "We have not approved any project."

We went in quest of lions. Very special lions — the rare Asiatic breed, which once roamed the whole of West Asia from Northern Turkey through Arabia to northern India up to the Narmada.

But the dedicated 'sportsmen' of the Raj reduced them to just 12 by the end of the 19th century. Then, the Nawab of Junagadh called a halt. Today, 411 Asiatic lions roam free in 1,412 sq km of protected wilderness in Gujarat's Gir. And because they are protected, a whole ecosystem is alive and thriving.

This year, when spring was warming into summer, we drove into the green campus of the Gujarat Forest Department's Sinh Sadan. The accommodation was no-frills comfortable; the meals in the dining hall were vegetarian and sustaining; and because many visitors had flocked into the hamlet of Sasan Gir, we had to take the second round that morning, missing our favoured dawn tour.

Night hunters

Lions prefer hunting at night, settling down to sleep when the sun begins to rise. So though we didn't expect to sight a lion on that forenoon safari, we drove around anyway. We're glad we did. The other jeeps had returned to Sinh Sadan and apart from the forest workers and a few Maldhari herdsmen, who have some encampments called nesses in the forest, we had the thorn-scrub jungle to ourselves.

This is the right season for wildlife spotting. Most trees have shed their leaves and forest workers were sweeping them up and burning them to prevent forest fires. Consequently, visibility is clear for fairly long distances. We realised, once again, that when an animal at the top of the food chain is protected, then everything lower down also thrives. There were herds of chital, their speckled coats flickering through the sun-dappled forest, drinking at the water troughs set up and filled by the Forest Department.

Clans of langurs had teamed up with the spotted deer, dropping leaves and fruit to the chital grazing on the forest floor. From their high viewpoint atop trees, they would also spot predators approaching from far away. Their hooting warning would alert the deer to flee, flashing the white on their tails as danger signals to other animals. This late in the morning, however, most of the predators were asleep and even peacocks, with their beautiful and ungainly tails pecked at their breakfast with the deliberate fastidiousness of gourmets.

This is the best time to do bird-watching and though most of Gir's forests had the usual assortment of doves, woodpeckers and garrulous babblers, we did see a spotted owlet, fluffed up like a sage in a downy coat, a brace of fat partridges, who seemed as curious about us as we were about them, and a brilliantly painted kingfisher. He glittered in a spring-green valley, perched on a branch above a chortling jungle stream. If it hadn't been for the lions, the trees would probably have been cut for firewood, the stream would have dried and the birds would have found their way to greener pastures.

But we still hadn't seen any lions though. When we returned to Sinh Sadan, a family from Mumbai were as bubbly as champagne. They had seen and photographed a whole pride of lions — a full-maned lion, two lionesses, and three cubs. "I wanted to get out of the jeep and cuddle them," gushed 10-year old Sania, "but their mother might have bitten me. No?" We agreed that it might have happened but that didn't dampen her enthusiasm one little bit!

The well-informed Dr Sandeep Kumar, IFS, deputy conservator of forests and boss of Gir, assured us that we would probably have better luck in the afternoon. He put us in the hands of guide Ketan, who was also a photographer, and driver Ashish. We were told that they were very lucky — in animal spotting, luck plays a major role. And it seemed to change immediately.

We passed a Maldhari herdsman grazing his buffaloes just outside a rather makeshift village. He said a lion had been seen not far from his settlement this morning and his herd of buffaloes was still restless. In spite of having their herds attacked by lions and leopards, many Maldharis prefer to claim their right as forest dwellers and stay on. They get paid for every one of their cattle killed by a jungle predator, but the natural fodder in the forest is so plentiful that it makes up for the danger.

If a lion had been seen in the morning the chances were that it had not wandered too far after dawn. We passed a nilgai bull standing stock-still against a huge, overshadowing banyan tree. It wasn't grazing but was as immobile a blue-grey boulder. We wondered, for a moment, if it had seen a big cat, but then it moved and began to nibble on some leaves. Clearly it had been wary of us and had frozen: normal bluebull strategy. A little later, we spotted nervous chinkara, leaping away like ballet dancers. But their nimble-footed performance could have been triggered by our presence. They needn't, necessarily, have sensed a predator approaching.

The sun was quite low in the sky, the light had softened, and we were giving up hope of ever spotting one of the lions of Gir when we heard the yap of a frightened spotted deer. Three of them were just off the road, a little ahead of us. We drove up and saw them standing rigid, their ears swivelled forward. Danger lay in front of them and they were ready to scoot.

We raced ahead. Ketan mentioned a wooded ravine as a likely spot. We drove into it. Stopped.

There, in the half-shadows of the forest floor, stretched out in regal ease, was a magnificent lioness. She turned her head and looked at us with serene arrogance, the sunlight glowing on her amber eyes. Then, when we had taken all the pictures we wanted, she rose, and very languidly vanished into the protected forests of Gir.

It is estimated that 1.35 crore trees are felled in Gujarat every year.

The threat of increasing population, urbanisation, industrialisation and road expansion is greatest on social forests in non-forest areas.

Illegal mining, increasing tourism, road construction and expansion, human encroachments and illegal grazing in forest areas are perceived as threats to the Gir forests in Saurashtra.

In central and south Gujarat, unchecked cultivation encroachment by tribals in forest areas in the hope of getting land is a rising concern

Rs 3,505 crore worth of revenue per annum is estimated to be generated from timber alone in Gujarat

State's forest cover is merely 9.66% of the state's total geographical area, much lower than the UNEP requirement of at least a third of the total land mass

As the world celebrates World Environment Day today on the theme, 'Forests: Nature at your service', it is a good time to point out that Gujarat's forest cover is meager and it faces further threat largely from human interventions like encroachments, tree chopping for industries and road expansion, illegal mining, illegal cultivation and grazing. These have put the state's forests under immense pressure.

According to a forest department estimate of 2009, there are approximately 42 crore trees in Gujarat in forest and non-forest areas. But shockingly, 5.6% of the 26.9 crore trees in non-forest areas (approximately 1.35 cr) are felled every year! The rest 15 crore are in forest areas.

While the forest department is aware and concerned about the degradation, it has aptly pointed out that this is a global phenomenon, not local. As increasing human population requires land, the biggest pressure is on forests because trees can be chopped within hours to make land available to man for housing, animal grazing etc.

"Social forests are disappearing. It is only because we have massive plantation drives that the rate of degradation has been arrested, otherwise in no time, the forest cover would disappear. The forest and tree cover has increased in the last ten years, though not as much as we need," says additional principal chief conservator of forests HS Singh.

Gujarat minister of state for forest and environment Mangubhai Patel candidly states that development is a must and it cannot be compromised, but "we are ensuring that forest are not harmed in the process".

Singh adds that the Planning Commission has estimated that revenue of Rs3,505 crore is generated every year from timber alone in Gujarat, which makes forest maintenance a very lucrative economic activity. The national revenue from timber is pegged at a whopping Rs45,000 crore by the Planning Commission. Principal Secretary, environment and forests, Gujarat, SK Nanda says that the state is encouraging farmers to take up timber cultivation.Turn to p5

A team of trackers has been put into service to find the whereabouts of a lioness in Sasan Gir forest, that went missing five days ago, forest officials said. According to forest officials, the 8 year old lioness, went missing from May 27. The forest department initially carried out a search operation in the forest area, but failed to track the lioness. The forest officials first suspected that the lioness might have disappeared as it was a mating season of lions. But when they failed to spot the animal in the forests in the past five days, they roped in a special team to find her out. Last week, two lion cubs were found dead after falling into well in forest region.